Technical director as an expert at the meeting.

In the evaluation report, the audit committee set questions for the municipalities, to which the municipal government must provide answers to the council by the end of August. The questions set are:

Regarding the activities under the Technical Committee, the Audit Committee has raised two questions:

1)      The inspection committee considers it important that the health center's facilities can be used as versatile as possible in the future. What measures has the technical committee taken or planned to take to implement the most versatile use of the health center's facilities?

2)      How has the technical committee monitored and will it monitor the progress of the implementation of the property management system? By when does the technical committee believe it will have the system fully implemented?

Questions asked to the Education and Welfare Board:

• What measures have been taken and are planned to be taken to ensure that the positive effects of the measures implemented with project funding are permanent?

Questions asked to the municipal government:

• In what ways can the municipal government implement advocacy for public employment services and in what ways has advocacy been implemented in practice? How does the municipal government see the role of the employment board from an advocacy perspective?

Answers:

Technical Committee 25.8.2026 § 63

The Pirkanmaa Welfare Region has only announced at the end of 2025 the extent to which it will rent the premises of the health and service centre in the future and what changes need to be made to these premises. The changes to the premises have been made during the spring and summer of 2026. The changes to the locks and access rights are still pending. Only after these solutions have been clarified has the municipality of Kihniö been able to start investigating other uses of the premises on a more permanent basis.

The Kihniö council has decided, in connection with the approval of the 2023 budget, to establish a premises working group to prepare a concrete plan for the utilization of the health center's premises. The Kihniö municipal board has updated the composition of the premises working group at its meeting on 19 January 2026 as follows: Technical Director, Antti Kivioja, Matti Sillanpää, Jari Alkkiomäki, Jenni Vehmasto, Erja Silvennoinen. The mayor, the welfare director, the chairman of the board and the council can participate in the meetings as experts.

The facilities working group has discussed the use of the health center's facilities in several meetings. The results of these meetings have been reported to the municipal board and technical committee.

A major moisture problem was detected on the ground floor of the health center in the summer of 2025, and the required rainwater and stormwater management solutions and drying of the premises have been investigated and implemented since autumn 2025. During the spring and summer of 2027, we will only get better information about whether the premises on the ground floor will dry out as desired. It is not possible to investigate the soil under the foundation of the building in a sufficiently cost-effective manner, and the functionality of the implemented solutions (i.e. the drying of the structures) will only be seen when the water flows originating from outside the building have been controlled and the tight floor and wall coatings have been removed.

Hopefully, the ground floor premises can be renovated during 2027 and hopefully also used by the veterinarian. The current veterinary premises are not in a completely satisfactory condition due to indoor air problems, among other things. In addition, if it were possible to get rid of the current veterinary premises, it would also make it possible to get rid of other underused premises or find another solution.

The health center's well-equipped institutional kitchen and dining room have been negotiated with two different operators, but the negotiations have not led to the rental of the premises. The possibility of renting the premises is constantly marketed on the internet.

Various thoughts and ideas have been raised about the use of the premises in various meetings and discussions, but no progress has yet been made on these. The use of the premises of the Health and Service Centre in the municipality's own operations has also been considered, for example, in relation to the functions of the office buildings. However, in this case, the emptying of the premises in a very central location would mean a major change in the active activities of the area and the use of the spaces that are being emptied. In general, it can be stated that there is no particular demand for service premises in Kihniö, which significantly complicates the utilization of the premises of the Health Centre.

The municipality of Kihniö has been using a digital property management system called Granlund Manager (GM) for several years. The system has only been used to a small extent in relation to the opportunities it offers. In recent years, the usability of the digital municipal property information service developed by Senate Properties, which is responsible for state property assets, has been investigated as an alternative to Granlund Manager in data management. Based on the investigations carried out, it has now been decided to continue using Granlund Manager. The decision was influenced by the fact that its functionality is clearly more extensive than the Senate system and the costs of using it do not differ significantly from the costs of the Senate system.

During spring 2026, training in the use of GM has been provided and its use has been expanded, including by preparing for the introduction of digital service requests. The work has also drawn up a framework for the phased expansion of the use of GM, including making digital service requests via mobile phone and expanding its use to outdoor areas.

The biggest problem with using the property management system has proven to be the very incomplete initial data on buildings and the lack of long-term renovation programs (PTS). An implementation path has been drawn up to produce this data, which is based on initially compiling rough data from the entire municipality's property stock and transferring it to GM. However, this work requires significant resources. The resources available to the technical department are very limited, so the collection of this data is progressing slowly. However, the goal is that by the end of 2026 the data would exist at a rough level and that it could be transferred to GM during 2027.

The implementation of the property management system has begun and the aim is to produce its benefits in stages. According to the current estimate, the entire municipality's property stock would be in the system in good condition and in use by the end of 2027, with basic information and at least the programming of the most important regular maintenance work. The goal is that by then the system would also have a rough long-term renovation plan for the properties. The goal is also that by the end of 2027 the normal maintenance measures for all properties and their implementation would be included in the system. Even after this, refining the system's information and utilizing it as effectively as possible requires supplementing and refining the information within the limits allowed by the resources available.

Education and Welfare Board 2.9.2026

The Education and Welfare Board is responsible to the Audit Board:

The most important measure for the continuation of the positive effects of the projects is to demonstrate their effectiveness. The effects of municipal educational projects are assessed using both quantitative and qualitative indicators. Key assessment methods include surveys, performance indicators and project-specific objectives. Some of the indicators are directly linked to the indicators of the TEAViisar, which enables the production of nationally comparable information. Through the TEAViisar, the projects also have economic effects, because the indicators affect the evaluation of the municipality's welfare work and, thereby, the allocation of resources.

The primary benefit of the projects is qualitative, and they are planned in such a way that the activities can be established as part of the municipality's permanent service production, if possible. However, establishment requires decisions by elected officials on the continuation of funding. For example, school youth work and sports counseling are activities that have arisen through projects and whose continuation depends on budget decisions.

It is important to note that a significant part of the project activities actually cover services that are close to statutory obligations or support their implementation. For example, outreach youth work is a statutory task, but its expanded implementation and effectiveness are often dependent on project funding. In addition, in the municipality, part of the salary costs of the instructors are covered through projects, which highlights the importance of projects in maintaining the service level.

If project funding is not received, the elected officials must decide when preparing the budget whether to include sufficient appropriations in the financial framework for educational activities so that the current level of non-statutory services can be maintained without projects.

The effects of projects are often visible with a delay and may not be visible during the current budget year. Therefore, it is important to consider the effects in the longer term when making decisions. For example, investing in outreach youth work can prevent the exclusion of young people, which will reduce the municipality's fines and other costs in the coming years.

Municipal board

The municipality of Kihniö handles the advocacy and local organization of TE services as part of Western Pirkanmaa employment region in cooperation with other municipalities in the region. After the responsibility for organizing public employment services was transferred to the municipalities, Kihniö monitors the interests of its region and offers services through the following structures:

1. Regional cooperation and joint supervision

• Joint institution: Kihniö participates in the employment region's joint decision-making and governance model. Through this, the municipality ensures that the voice of a small municipality, local needs and fair distribution of funding are reflected in regional decision-making. Kihniö municipality has one representative on the employment board.

• The board's activities have been perceived as good-natured. The voices of municipalities of all sizes are heard. We hope that this trend will continue.

• Host municipality model: Kihniö is part of a joint employment area, where the city of Parkano acts as the responsible municipality and the main provider of services. Cooperation with Parkano is close, including quarterly meetings between the employment coordinator and the mayor.

• Employment Area Management Team: The mayor participates in the management team meetings regularly. The meetings monitor the implementation of finances and services.

• TYM Steering Group for Multidisciplinary Support Cooperation in the Employment Area: The municipal director is part of the management team. The multi-sectoral support cooperation model that promotes employment (TYM cooperation model) is a joint statutory operating model between the employment authority, the welfare region and Kela. In the model, the municipality or joint municipal authority acting as the employment authority, the welfare region and Kela jointly assess the service needs of the unemployed person and plan appropriate services for them. 

2. Securing local services

• Services at your own town hall: Kihniö's important act of local advocacy has been to ensure that TE services are still physically available in their own municipality. Parkano City Employment Services walk to Kihniö Town Hall, where residents receive personal service by appointment.

3. Advocacy of entrepreneurs and business interests

• The host municipality and the municipality of Kihniö link employment services to local business policy. Cooperation with the joint business company will be close. Advocacy ensures that companies in the area receive the workforce they need and that the services of the employment area (such as recruitment services and wage subsidies) specifically support the growth of companies in Kihniö. In addition to representatives of the business company and the municipality, a representative of the TE services will be present at the company visits as needed.

The negotiations concern employees of the Finance and Administration Department.

The municipality of Kihniö, together with the cities of Ikaalinen, Sastamala and Parkano, the municipality of Punkalaitumen and Sastamala Ruoka- ja Puhtauspalvelut Oy (Servi Oy), has investigated the organisation of financial and payroll administration services. The reasons for launching the investigation include changes in procurement legislation, which necessitate a reassessment of the current ways of organising services. Kihniö, in turn, needs to resolve the municipality's financial and payroll administration services in the longer term.

The aim of the municipalities involved in the preparation is to establish a jointly owned affiliated unit, or in-house company, to provide financial and payroll administration services to its owners. The company's owners would initially be Ikaalinen, Sastamala, Parkano, Kihniö and Punkalaidun, as well as Servi Oy. Later, other owners could also join the company's operations.

The aim of the arrangement is to ensure the continuity of services, strengthen expertise resources, secure and improve the availability of human resources, and achieve economies of scale based on cooperation, especially in system and software procurement. In addition, the aim is to ensure the long-term development and cost-effective production of services.

According to the plan, the responsibility for providing financial and payroll services would be transferred to the company to be established. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify the transfer of the personnel of the municipality of Kihniö, which currently provides financial and payroll services, as so-called old employees, in accordance with the principles governing the transfer of business. Employment relationships would continue under the terms and conditions of employment in force at the time of the transition.

The planned arrangement will affect the employer organization of the personnel, the status and tasks of the personnel. Therefore, the matter must be handled before the final decision is made in the cooperation procedure in accordance with the Act on Cooperation between Employers and Personnel in Municipalities and Welfare Areas (449/2007).

The cooperation procedure shall address at least:

· the planned corporate structure and its basis;

· the planned transfer of financial and payroll administration functions and personnel to the company being established;

· the legal, economic and social impacts of the change on personnel;

· the status of personnel and the continuity of terms and conditions of employment;

· the planned date of the transition and the practical arrangements related to implementing the change; and

· options and views presented by staff.

The aim of the collaboration procedure is not to reduce personnel. The aim is to discuss organizational changes that affect the position of personnel in collaboration in sufficient time before the matter is resolved and to ensure that personnel have effective opportunities to influence the process during the preparation. The negotiations concern five employees of the Finance and Administration Department. The negotiations are conducted by the mayor on the employer's side.

Background

The municipality of Kihniö needs to investigate and make a proposal for the organization of financial and payroll administration services from the end of 2026. The preparatory work was launched during the spring of 2026. In the first phase, the options for in-house service production, cooperation between municipalities and the complete outsourcing of services were investigated. In addition, the municipality of Kihniö is participating in the investigation to establish a joint financial and payroll administration company of five municipalities.

Based on the study, the most appropriate and economically advantageous way to provide services is to cooperate and purchase services from the City of Ikaalinen until the joint financial and payroll administration company of the five municipalities begins operations.

The procurement of services from Ikaalisilta is a small-scale procurement, to which the law on public procurement does not apply. According to the procurement guidelines of the municipality of Kihniö, for justified reasons, a tender competition does not need to be organized, but the rationality of the procurement must be ensured by sufficiently familiarizing yourself with the alternatives and comparing prices. This service report has been prepared in accordance with the municipality's procurement guidelines.

Preparation

The Municipality of Kihniö and the City of Ikaalinen have prepared an agreement on the provision of financial administration services. The purpose of the agreement is to ensure the continuity, quality, cost-effectiveness and legal implementation of the financial administration services of the Municipality of Kihniö as a cooperation between the municipalities. The City of Ikaalinen acts as the service provider and the Municipality of Kihniö as the service subscriber.

The City of Ikaalinen provides the financial administration preparation, processing, reporting and support services specified in the agreement and the attached work distribution table to the Municipality of Kihniö. The agreement does not transfer the decision-making power, authority responsibility or jurisdiction of the Municipality of Kihniö to the City of Ikaalinen, but the institutions and officials of the Municipality of Kihniö continue to be responsible for the decisions, approvals, budget, internal control and overall financial management of the Municipality.

The City of Ikaalinen is responsible for the careful, professional and timely provision of the agreed services and for the sufficient competence of the personnel providing the service. The Municipality of Kihniö shall provide the information, documents, decisions and approvals necessary for the provision of the service in a timely manner. The parties shall appoint responsible persons and monitor the implementation of the agreement at monitoring meetings held at least twice a year. The City of Ikaalinen is also responsible for transferring the services to the planned joint financial management company, if the arrangement is implemented.

At this stage, it is difficult to estimate how much service will need to be purchased. A conservative estimate of the amount of service is 0,75 - 1 employee's work input per year.

Key terms of the agreement

• The agreement is for a fixed period from October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2027 and will enter into force when the competent institutions of both parties have approved it and the agreement has been signed.

• The municipality of Kihniö is responsible for the costs of the financial management software used, and the services are produced using the municipality of Kihniö's current systems.

• The content, scope, pricing, schedules or other essential terms of the service can only be changed by written agreement between the parties.

The agreement includes provisions on data protection, information security, confidentiality, document management, internal control, risk management, liability for damages and termination of the agreement. If the services are transferred to a new financial and human resources management company during the agreement period, the agreement now being accepted will terminate and each party will decide separately whether to join the new company.

Appendix 1

Agreement for the provision of financial administration services, including annexes.

Amendments to the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Agreements (Procurement Act 1397/2016) entered into force on 18 June 2026. The amendment to the law tightened the definition of so-called affiliated entities, or in-house companies. According to Section 15(2) of the new Procurement Act, a contracting entity (such as a municipality) must have a direct or indirect ownership interest of at least 10 per cent in an affiliated entity in the form of a limited liability company in order to be able to purchase services from it directly without competitive bidding in accordance with the Procurement Act.

If the minimum 10 percent ownership requirement is not met, affiliated entity agreements concluded before the entry into force of the Act must, as a rule, be terminated by 30 June 2027 at the latest. However, pursuant to the provisions of the entry into force of the Procurement Act, it is possible to extend the agreements within an extended transition period until 30 June 2030 if the early termination of the agreement would result in significant financial risks or exceptionally unreasonable consequences and there is a compelling reason for the extension related to the public interest.

The municipality of Kihniö is a shareholder in the municipally owned waste management company, Lakeuden Etappi Oy, of which the municipality controls 0,81 percent (4 shares). Since the direct ownership of the municipality of Kihniö is below the minimum ownership limit of 10 percent under the new Procurement Act, the current affiliated entity relationship between the municipality and the company regarding the organization of statutory waste management requires periodic notification to the State Treasury to ensure legality.

In the final legal text approved by Parliament, the statutory waste management and wastewater sector were excluded from the strict 10 percent ownership requirement, as organizing waste management is a statutory obligation imposed on municipalities under the Waste Act (646/2011).

The exception regarding waste management has not yet been finally confirmed and written into legislation, although the government has made it a binding political policy.

The situation is divided into two different phases in terms of wastewater management and waste management:

• Wastewater management (confirmed): The exception for wastewater management was established and confirmed in connection with the reform of the Procurement Act by amending the Water Management Act.

• Waste management (in progress): The waste management exemption was not directly included in the Procurement Act that entered into force in June 2026. According to the government's policy, the waste management exemption is intended to be regulated separately in connection with the so-called Waste Act 2 reform. However, the preparation of the waste law proposal in question is still in progress as of late summer 2026, as it received very conflicting feedback during its comment round, including regarding the sales limits of affiliated units.

Waste management and recycling services (CPV code 90) are explicitly subject to the reporting obligation in the guidelines issued by the State Treasury.

The deadline for submitting a notification regarding the extension of the affiliated unit agreement is 30 September 2026. Failure to submit a notification or being late would result in the direct procurement cooperation with Lakeuden Etappi Oy becoming an illegal direct procurement in violation of the Procurement Act, which would jeopardize the uninterrupted operation of the municipality's statutory waste management. With the notification, the municipality reserves the right to legally continue the current contract structure within the framework of the transition period (until 30 June 2030), during which ownership structures or contract models can be adapted to the requirements of the new legislation if necessary.

Applicable legal provisions:

• Act on Public Procurement and Concession Agreements (1397/2016) Section 15

• Act amending the Act on Public Procurement and Concession Agreements (entry into force and transitional provisions 18 June 2026)

• Waste Act (646/2011) Chapter 5 (Municipal waste management obligation)

According to Section 27 of the Act on the State Subsidy for Basic Municipal Services, a municipality's state subsidy may be increased upon application at its discretion within the limits of the state budget if the municipality is in need of increased financial support, primarily due to exceptional or temporary municipal financial difficulties.

Its assessment also takes into account specific local circumstances. The condition for granting an increase in the state share is that the municipality has approved a plan of measures to be implemented to balance its finances.

The measures, including their timetable and their impact in euros, must be presented in the application.

According to Section 27(2) of the Act on the State Subsidy for Basic Municipal Services, the State Aid Authority may also set other conditions related to the municipality's finances for the granting and use of the increase. The increase in the state contribution may not be granted in subsequent years or may be granted at a reduced rate if the proposed measures or the conditions set have not been complied with. Based on the aforementioned section of the Act, the Ministry sets the following conditions for the use of the increase in the state contribution in addition to the approved financial balancing plan:

1. The increase must not result in a corresponding increase in the municipality's own decision-making powers. This applies to both operating and investment expenditure. The increase is intended to support the municipality's own financial recovery measures, for which the municipality should prepare regardless of the grant.

2. The increase is intended to prepare for the financial restructuring needs that have arisen due to the previous development of the municipality's economy. Such needs include, among others, preparing for loan servicing costs, covering deficits and known changes in income criteria that have already occurred.

3. The municipality shall implement the measures proposed by the assessment group pursuant to Section 118 of the Local Government Act to ensure the provision of services. The above condition applies to municipalities in which an assessment group pursuant to Section 118 of the said Act has been established.

A maximum of EUR 10,000,000 is available for an increase in the discretionary government transfer. According to Section 45(2) of the Act on the Government Transfer of Basic Municipal Services, an application for an increase must be submitted by a date decided by the Ministry of Finance.

The Director of Welfare has submitted his resignation to the Kihniö Municipal Board on 24 August 2026. The last day of office is 27 September 2026.

According to Section 50 of the current administrative regulations, the municipal government decides on the selection of the welfare director.

The Education and Welfare Board has sent the proposal from the Council for the Elderly and Disabled to the municipal government that the need for business travel be reassessed.

The municipally organized service closed in 2024 due to a lack of customers and savings.

According to Section 1 of the Pre-emption Act (5.8.1977/608), a municipality has a right of pre-emption in the sale of real estate located in the municipality in order to acquire land for community development and for recreational and conservation purposes. The right of pre-emption means the municipality's right to redeem the sold real estate for the purchase price agreed upon by the seller and the buyer. When using the pre-emption, the municipality takes the place of the buyer and acquires ownership of the area that is the subject of the sale under the terms of the deed of sale.

The municipality must also compensate the buyer for direct costs related to the transaction and pay interest on the costs in accordance with Section 3, Paragraph 2 of the Interest Act (633/1982). According to Section 21 of the Pre-emption Act, the municipal government decides on the exercise of the pre-emption right. The decision must be made and the registration authority, i.e. the Land Survey, notified of it within three months of the certification of the transfer deed.

The decision must be given without delay as a demonstrable notification to the buyer and seller.

Attached material: property transfer list

Real estate transfer notices:

6 property transfer notices

The assignment is 50%.

Official decisions:

Municipal Mayor § 31-32

Financial Manager §

Technical Committee 25.8.2026

§57 Legality and quorum of the meeting

§58 Election of the minutes inspectors

§59 Administrative obligation of the property 250-403-10-56 Haanmetsä

§60 On the findings and measures of the cleanliness inspection carried out in June 2026

§61 Municipal initiative on requirements for the Myyränkankaa wind power plant

environmental permit

§62 Response to the Licensing and Supervision Authority's request for statement and clarification of 26 June 2026 regarding

coastal construction deviation decisions

§63 The questions raised in the 2025 evaluation report of the Audit Board

answers

§64 Supplementation of the reasons for the decision of the Technical Committee of 12 May 2026, § 43

self-correcting

§65 Determination of usage fees for the pool section of the Health and Service Center

§66 Financial performance 1.1.2025 - 30.6.2026

§67 Current affairs

Civilization and Wellbeing Committee 2.9.2026

§61 Legality and quorum of the meeting

§62 Election of the minutes inspectors

§63 Results of basic education of the TEAVaisari

§64 Research permit application University of Helsinki

§65 Statements on the observations of the audit committee in the evaluation report

§66 Interim report 01.01. - 30.06.2026

§67 Guidelines for cooperation between organisations

§68 Future Planning Working Group

§69 Decisions of office holders

§70 Notification and other matters

§71 Youth worker filling permit